Odegaard on Rice and Norway's date with England

Odegaard on Rice: 'He has everything'

Martin Odegaard knows what is coming. The Norway captain singled out Declan Rice ahead of Saturday evening's quarter-final, calling the England midfielder a complete player (2). The two share a dressing room at Arsenal. Odegaard knows Rice's game inside out, and his words carry weight: respect, not fear. Your captain is not blinking.

Haaland leads the line with 7 goals

Erling Haaland sits level with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé atop the Golden Boot race. Seven goals in four matches. England manager Thomas Tuchel has spent the week building a plan around stopping him (3). No striker at this tournament has been harder to handle.

Solbakken, the socialist on the sideline

Ståle Solbakken has become one of the stories of this World Cup. German outlet FAZ ran a feature calling him 'the socialist on the sideline', a nod to his straight-talking style and the egalitarian ethos he has built in this Norway squad (4). The Brazil win was not an accident. It was a system working exactly as designed.

England are good. Smart. Strong runners. But Norway have a chance.

Aftenposten's preview does not sugarcoat it. England have quality across the pitch. But your team have already beaten Brazil. The same discipline and counter-attacking edge that stunned the Seleção is what Norway carry into this quarter-final (1). Kick-off is Saturday evening.

Tuchel sends a message

Thomas Tuchel made headlines with a warm message to Carlo Ancelotti this week, but his focus is fixed on Norway (7). He has prepared England for Haaland's movement, Odegaard's vision, and the low block that frustrated Brazil. Tuchel is not underestimating your team.

Fan reactions

The Brazil penalty note has become a minor obsession. A viral thread on r/soccer dissected the slip of paper that supposedly revealed Haaland and Norway's penalty plans against Brazil, fans are still debating whether it was real or a brilliant piece of misdirection. Meanwhile, the improbable story of Dumfries, a Scottish town that started supporting Norway 86 years ago, has resurfaced ahead of this England clash. Read the Brazil note deep-dive